SHENZHEN has taken the first place for the development of its digital economy, according to a report released at the 2018 China “Internet Plus” & Digital Economy Summit held in Chongqing on Thursday and Friday.

Guangzhou and Beijing follow Shenzhen in second and third place. Changsha, capital city of Hunan Province, made it into the top 10 for the first time.

In terms of provinces, Guangdong Province has taken the first place for three years in a row, followed by Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Beijing and Shandong.

The report was conducted by Tencent Research Institute with an aim of outlining an overview of the development of the digital economy in 351 cities in China.

It shows that the total output volume of the digital economy in China in 2017 was 26.7 trillion yuan (US$4.26 trillion), an increase of 17.24 percent over the previous year, which means digital technologies are increasingly permeating the economy.

Another tendency indicated by the report is that the “Internet Plus” mode is helping China’s economic and social development become more balanced, with less disparities being found between different cities.

The medical treatment, culture, entertainment and education sectors are leading the development of the digital economy.

Pony Ma, Tencent’s chairman of the board, noted in his keynote speech at the summit that the development of the digital economy is a significant part of China’s strategy, and that Tencent will contribute to helping various sectors undergo the transformation to the digital economy.

There were 12 different panel forums focusing on smart city, medical AI, education, cloud technology and finance, among other topics.

During the summit, Tencent signed cooperative deals with multiple government institutions and companies to provide Internet solutions. (Zhang Qian)